


ending up here

by cinderrain



Category: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Genre: (or as close as i could get it), Canon Compliant, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Introspection, conclave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14415444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderrain/pseuds/cinderrain
Summary: “Breq,” Seivarden began, concerned and angry, “is that allowed?”She meant, of course, how Anaander Mianaai planned to serve as both seats representing humans in the conclave.





	ending up here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crane_Among_Celandines](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crane_Among_Celandines/gifts).



> Written for the [R2SID Exchange 2018](http://cassyblue.tumblr.com/post/155506830273/republic-of-2-systems-independence-day-exchange), for Crane_Among_Celandines. I hope you like it!

“Breq,” Seivarden began, concerned and angry, “is that allowed?”

She meant, of course, how Anaander Mianaai planned to serve as both seats representing humans in the conclave. Neither of the bodies she was going to send had arrived yet, on Atheok Station, but the Presger required advance notice and word had spread quickly. The humans in the Republic were disgruntled at the news, but not surprised; they were used to being excluded, by now, and used to being sidelined by the Lord of the Radch’s will.

“This is only the preliminary conclave,” I pointed out. “If we let her have this, she’s less likely to pull something before or during the conclave.”

“Which of her?” Seivarden asked bitterly, rhetorical because the answer to that question never mattered.

“The other thing,” I continued, “is that of course the number of Annanders doesn’t matter. The Presger have both of our species outnumbered.”

“It’s their decision, in the end.” Seivarden sighed. “I do wish that they had let us have more representatives from each group. Then _Mercy of Kalr_ might have gotten a chance to participate.”

“ _Sphene_ is the best option,” I reminded her. “She’s never been a citizen of the Radch, and the more we can make this appear politically neutral, the better reception we’ll get from the rest of the citizens.” Both of the Republic and of the Radch.

Seivarden huffed. “We’d have better luck with that if a third of the conclave wasn’t going to be exclusively Anaander Mianaai.” Not precisely a third, but the stress of the situation lent itself well to exaggeration.

I gestured lack of worry. “We’ve done the best we could on our end. That’s all we can concern ourselves with.”

 

“ _Only_ the preliminary conclave?” Tisarwat did not take my reassurances as well as Seivarden did. “ _Only_ ,” she stressed, fretting, “the decision that marks whether the rest of all this is going forward in the first place!”

“Collect yourself, Lieutenant.”

“Do you think it’ll be different instances of her?” Tisarwat wanted to know. “If it’s the same, which one will it be?” Having once been Anaander, the question of _which one_ held a little more significance in her eyes than mine.

“You’ll have access to the internal proceedings.” I knew not being able to take part in the actual voting herself would distress Tisarwat, but there was nothing I could do about it. “We’re being locked in; you’re not being locked out, necessarily.”

“I’m still half-expecting you all to murder each other before half of the allotted time is up.”

“Well, if nothing we’ve done so far has caused a diplomatic incident yet, that would certainly do it.” I stood to begin preparing for the conclave. “Go and check on _Sphene_ for me.”

“Yes, sir.” And, with a parting glance, “good luck, sir.”

 

That was all that _Mercy of Kalr_ had to say to me, too. “Good luck, Captain. Be careful.”

“Thank you, Ship.” I would try.

As it turned out, the Anaanders arrived separately. Good news for us, on the surface, but that really just meant that I’d have to speak to her twice. And that, if we had to worry about murder during the conclave, the tension between the two of them would be stronger than any inter-faction fighting.

The first Anaander came straight to me, after disembarking her shuttle. “ _Justice of Toren_.”

“Tyrant.”

She smiled, amused. Strained, underneath, because of the nature of our meeting here. “Did you think this would end here? When you confronted me at Omaugh Palace?”

“No.” She knew that. “I never had any plans beyond that point.”

“And look where we are.” She sounded nearly proud, like she would congratulate me if my accomplishments hadn’t led to such difficulty for her. “The other me would never have believed it possible, you know.”

“Neither would this you.” Neither would I, but it annoyed me whenever she did this. Tried to make it seem like everything I’d done was in her favour, in her plans, all along. “Some people don’t possess your degree of obsession with planning, you know.”

“I still refuse to believe that you’ve come this far without any premediation.” She fell into step beside me, and I wished that _Sphene_ had joined me first. “Everyone I’ve asked has insisted that you always intend fairly inadvisable actions, and that it’s improvisation that’s gotten you here.”

“Then everyone you’ve asked has told you the truth.” In less polite terms than Anaander might have presented, possibly.

“I know you’re capable of it. I built you.” She stared at me, with a sense of ownership that I disliked greatly. “You certainly rooted out that stunt I pulled with your baby lieutenant quickly enough.”

I decided to try to avoid greeting the other iteration of the tyrant, who Ship had just informed me was arriving. One was enough.

_Sphene_ ’s arrival saved me from further conversation. Her distaste for the tyrant might have exceeded my own, but she had centuries of vitriol saved up and had had very little chance to express any of it.

 

Back on Omaugh, revealing my identity to Daos Ceit, I had told her I was dead. That I was all that was left. It was true at the time, in line with my goals and attitude, but I’ve gained enough since then that that was no longer true.

I hadn’t gained myself back. Nor anything I’d lost. But I’d picked up people, once again, somehow along the way. I’d gained responsibility. Helping and fixing might have been what Awn would have wanted, and what Awn would have done, but I was forced to wonder how close I had gotten to what she would have done, had she the chance.

I messaged Seivarden with my musings, on a whim, waiting for the Presger representatives to arrive. Ship shows me her laughter, and her reply:

“Establishing a new Republic wholesale and asserting the rights of an entire species is all you, Breq. This is yours.”

I held onto that going in. However this conclave turned out, I had done so much starting with so little. This was mine.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was "Anaander Mianaai and Breq encounter each other at the Conclave." I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you so much again for "My Captain, my blessing"! I'm sorry this one isn't very long. Happy R2SID!


End file.
